Retaliating to bullies is not going to solve anything says leading youth organisation, Youthline.

This comes after an American human behavioural specialist Dr John Demartini’s said bully victims should fight back with their fists and parents should not be so over-protective.

Youthline Auckland CEO Stephen Bell agrees that it’s important to build resilient kids, but says “using your fists is never the right way to go.”

“Yes, it is important to stand up for yourself and the advice to ‘fight back’ may be given with the best intentions, but this approach is likely to only make matters worse and can escalate into greater levels of violence,” he says.

“The challenge of bullying is firstly an adult problem and we need to create communities where it is ok to reach out for support and where we are role modeling effectively to our young people. From parliament and schools through to the sports field it is the adults that must first make a stance and be clear about the emotional environment we want to live in.

“The best advice we can give to parents if their child being bullied is to help them develop a network of support by going with them to talk to a teacher or counsellor and in extreme cases, the police – whatever you do, do not take matters into your own hands”.

Bullying is so detrimental to our young people and it is vital that schools are proactive and take a school wide approach to building an environment that clearly communicates non violence values,” says Mr Bell.

If you are being bullied we would encourage you to get hold of Youthline via any of the following:
Helpline 0800 37 66 33
Free txt 234
Email: talk@youthline.co.nz